Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics told the BBC that the conventional wisdom is that shares in "gun manufacturers rise after shootings like the one in Las Vegas as investors believe there will be a rush to purchase guns before new gun control regulations are put into place".

The price spikes on Monday follow a trend seen after other tragedies that prompted speculation that new weapons regulations could be introduced in the US.

Paul Christopher, head global market strategist at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute, says there were surges in gun sales after the 9/11 attacks, after the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, and after the terrorist attack in San Bernardino CA terrorist attack of Dec. 2015.